//   SPEAKERS

Samir Grimes is a professor of marine sciences with more than 25 years of research, training and consultancy in the field of marine environment in the Mediterranean region. He has participated in various Programs and projects on Integrated Coastal Zone Management, Maritime Spatial Planning and Blue Economy (UN/MAP, EU/IMP/Med, PEGASO, MEDINA, SMAPIII, UfM).

From 2014 to 2016, Samir Grimes was advisor to the Minister of Environment in Algeria, Director of Biodiversity, Coastal and Climate Change and national focal point for several international and regional organisations and bodies (GEF, UNEP/MAP, Plan Bleu, IUCN). He has participated in various Conferences of Parties on climate change and the Barcelona Convention. Lecturer of the MedOpen virtual course on ICZM (PAPRAC-UN-MAP), Samir Grimes is currently the National Hub of the WestMed initiative on Blue Economy in the Western Mediterranean, he is part of the UNESCO/IOC expert pool on Maritime Spatial Planning and member of the Blue Plan expert group on MED50 foresight. He participated in the realization of the first national ICZM strategy in Algeria in 2015, its update in 2021 and in the elaboration of the first national strategy for the blue economy 2030 as well as the initial assessment of the Maritime Spatial Planning and the blue economy potential in Algeria (IMP/Med).